​Research shows that what we eat has a direct effect on our health. For years, I shrugged off this fact as fake news. Processed food is full of chemicals, dyes, preservatives, and artificial ingredients that our bodies were never designed to consume. I didn’t care. This truth had no impact on my lifestyle at all. For decades, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without giving it a single thought.

Then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My symptoms became so severe that I turned into a semi-invalid who rarely left the house. I had severe pain in multiple muscles and joints, frequent bouts of spiking pain in my knees, elbows, and feet, pain that increased with changes in the weather, pain so severe it woke me up at night, constant fatigue, difficulty completing even the simplest tasks of daily living, loss of focus, an inability to concentrate, and feelings of hopelessness.

My health was a train wreck. I desperately wanted to get back on track. I scoured cyberspace looking for ways to feel better. I found at least a gazillion (well, it seemed like that many) articles about the relationship between exposure to chemicals and compromised health. One of the most frequent sources of this exposure is from eating processed food that is manufactured with toxic chemical ingredients and additives.

Folks who eat lots of processed food have an increased risk for developing a host of illnesses including fibromyalgia, arthritis, lupus, Sjogren's syndrome, most autoimmune diseases, heart disease, depression, diabetes, and cancer. Why in the world did I eat this garbage for over half a century? Even after I discovered that packaged cookies, candy, soda, and all manner of food like substances in boxes and bags and cans made me sick, why was it so difficult to ditch processed food? These are my top 5 excuses. What are yours?

Lack of Information. For years, I didn’t know about the dangers of eating processed food full of toxic chemicals. In the past, this information was hard to find. Commercial food manufacturers certainly weren’t telling anybody. Now, the truth is everywhere. I logged online, typed keywords into my search engine, and hundreds of articles about the dangers of eating processed food popped up within seconds. I find new info every day in news reports and on social media. I can’t use being uninformed as an excuse anymore.

Habit. I was used to eating processed food. It seemed simpler to keep on eating it than to change my customary food routine. I drank soda and stuffed my mouth with packaged candy, cookies, and chips because it was what I was used to doing. I liked the taste, the convenience, and the familiarity.

Disbelief. Even after I had the information and read every article and book about the harm processed food causes our bodies, I just didn't want to accept that this could be true. I’d rather think there was some other cause for being so sick. I’d rather get a new prescription, pop a pill, find a new doctor, or hope for a miracle cure. It was hard to believe that I possessed the power to improve my health by changing my lifestyle.

False Sense of Trust. I told myself that if an item was available at my local supermarket or nearest big box store, it must be safe to eat. Nothing could be further from the truth. Giant food corporations have only one motivation for producing processed food products. And it is not our well-being. It is profit. Read the book Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss for an eye-opening look into the murky world of commercially manufactured food.

Unwillingness to Change. Even after I knew the truth and believed the truth, it took a while to decide to change my lifestyle. I didn’t want to give up soda or packaged cookies or convenience foods that come in boxes. I didn’t want to stop eating things I had consumed for years. I didn’t want to completely change the way I eat.​

But I finally summoned up the will and the energy and did it. I ditched processed food little by little. I found appropriate real food substitutes for every manufactured food product I eliminated. I learned which real foods have the most nutrients to rev up my immune system, decrease inflammation, decrease pain, and promote health. I made other lifestyle changes, too. It took me a year to completely overhaul my lifestyle so that I could create a healthier reality.

I’m so glad I did. I have been symptom free from the horrible pain and severe chronic fatigue of fibromyalgia for over 7 years. I am no longer a semi-invalid. I spend my days traveling, writing, camping, playing with my grandchildren, and living each moment filled with joy and gratitude. What about you? Will you make excuses like I did for years? I hope you decide to make lifestyle changes instead. I hope you won’t let processed food full of toxic ingredients rob you of your potential to live a healthy life that is full of hope, promise, and possibilities.

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I didn't know what on earth was wrong with me. I had a growing list of weird symptoms: severe pain in multiple muscles and joints, debilitating fatigue, muddle-headed thinking, dizziness, nausea, numbness and tingling on the left side of my body, insomnia, and depression. It was almost a relief when the doctor said I had fibromyalgia. I wasn't bonkers. I had a real disease with a real name. The rest of his news wasn't quite as cheering. Fibromyalgia is a chronic illness. An estimated six to ten million people in our country have fibromyalgia. There's no definitive cure.

No cure? So much for the whole sense of relief thing. I spent the next year feeling sorry for myself while I struggled with severe pain and the other horrible symptoms of this illness. Eventually, I got so sick and tired of constantly being sick and tired that I dragged myself out of the recliner, staggered to the study to retrieve the laptop, and propped up on the couch to roam through cyberspace searching for clues. I was too stubborn to let the teeny tiny fact that fibromyalgia has no known cure dampen my determination to find something that could help me feel better.

It was like trying to work a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle without the box top. I had no idea what the finished picture would look like.

I found pieces to the puzzle all over the place.

Inflammation increases pain levels.

Exposure to toxic chemicals increases inflammation.

There are toxic chemicals in tons of household products,

The cosmetics and cleaning products I used were unsafe.

There are toxic ingredients in processed food.

Real food with anti-inflammatory nutrients decreases pain.

Real food with antioxidants boosts the immune system.

I had to make numerous adjustments to my daily routine before all the pieces of the puzzle came together to create a picture of healing and restored health. It was worth it. The lifestyle changes I made truly changed my life. My symptoms improved with every change I made until one cold and sunny winter morning I woke up without a single remaining fibromyalgia symptom.

I created practical priorities for healthy living that helped me move away from chronic illness back to well-being. My top three strategies were to make three specific lifestyle changes.

I got toxic chemicals out of my home.

I stopped eating processed food manufactured with toxic ingredients.

I eat lots of real food full of antioxidants that boost the immune system and anti-inflammatory nutrients that promote healing.

If you are currently healthy, these strategies can help you stay that way, If you have fibromyalgia or another chronic illness, hold on to hope. You can get better. I did. I have been symptom free for seven years, two months, and eleven days.

Practical Priorities Newsletter

Free Newsletter! Join the Practical Priorities Email Friends Crew to get real food recipes, fibromyalgia recovery strategies, healthy living tips, devotional of the month, and practical life hacks about everything delivered right to your inbox. Just fill in your email address, check the box to opt in, and click subscribe to newsletter. (Note: My newsletter service will only send out newsletters to those who check the box.) Thanks for joining the growing Practical Priorities community!